Warman city council questions proposed joint-use high school location

Kevin Berger · LJI

· Posted: May 21, 2025 6:09 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

A projected joint-use high schoolhouse for Martensville and Warman, Sask., students successful the agrarian municipality of Corman Park has deed a sticking point, arsenic Warman metropolis assembly is present saying a caller precocious schoolhouse wrong Warman itself would beryllium a "more liable and cost-effective alternate for Warman taxpayers."

In response, a citizen-led conjugation dubbed Future Forward for Warman says the metropolis is overlooking facts, ignoring dependable readying recommendations and delaying advancement connected a solution that already has wide determination and provincial support, without presenting immoderate alternate for overcrowding astatine Warman High School.

The Prairie Spirit School Division and the Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools submitted an exertion for a joint-use schoolhouse betwixt Warman and Martensville to the provincial Ministry of Education successful 2022, and has been resubmitting it each twelvemonth since.

The connection would spot a caller installation built on Township Road 384 successful the RM of Corman Park, conscionable eastbound of Martensville, a chamber assemblage conscionable northbound of Saskatoon.

Prairie Spirit communications manager Brenda Erickson said the determination is supported by a survey conducted by section municipalities wrong the Saskatoon North Partnership for Growth (P4G).

In March 2025, the state announced the project is astatine the apical of the ministry's database for aboriginal superior projects, "which is simply a affirmative measurement successful this Ministry process," Erickson said.

In fact, it is No. 1 and No. 2 connected the apical 10 list, arsenic some Prairie Spirit and Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools person submitted this superior request, she said.

Warman High School is presently astatine 103 per cent capacity, with an enrolment of 751 students arsenic of September 30, 2024.

"At conscionable implicit 100 per cent usage, the level of usage astatine Warman High School is emblematic anterior to a caller build," said Erickson.

'Significant and unnecessary expense'

The City of Warman was primitively connected committee with the projected associated usage precocious school, signing a memorandum of knowing successful aboriginal 2022 on with the City of Martensville, RM of Corman Park and the 2 schoolhouse divisions indicating their corporate enactment for the project.

In the intervening years, immoderate Warman councillors person expressed reluctance implicit the task and pushed for much survey to beryllium conducted.

In caller weeks, Future Forward for Warman has been posting to societal media advocating for the joint-use precocious schoolhouse project.

On April 29, Warman nonmigratory Laura Davies posted a societal media video wherever she called connected chap citizens to scope retired to Warman councillors to either explicit enactment for the associated usage precocious schoolhouse oregon inquire what the city's alternate would be.

"I'm not present to constituent fingers oregon delegate blasted without reason. I recognize that owed diligence is essential. However, erstwhile the outgo of inaction falls squarely connected the shoulders of our children, who volition extremity up successful overcrowded classrooms struggling to larn successful inadequate spaces, we person to inquire ourselves: is much survey truly an reply oregon conscionable a stall tactic?" Davies asked.

"Our students cannot wait. Learning spaces are essential, and operation takes time. As a community, we indispensable travel together, not conscionable to dependable our concerns, but to request accountability and action. Kids' acquisition should ne'er beryllium held hostage by indecision oregon bureaucracy."

Future Forward Warman besides posted a petition online imploring the City of Warman to enactment the determination joint-use school. As of May 18, it has 653 verified signatures.

Warman councillors discussed the contented during an in-camera league astatine their May 12 meeting. A mates of days later, the metropolis sent retired a news merchandise clarifying council's position. The merchandise states that 1 of council's superior concerns is the fiscal interaction of servicing a distant location, including the added costs of acquiring land, providing h2o and wastewater services, and installing state and powerfulness servicing.

This "significant and unnecessary expense," the merchandise says, would beryllium overmuch higher than what could beryllium achieved by moving with existing improvement partners successful Warman.

The merchandise besides states assembly is considering the semipermanent implications of pupil proscription to a schoolhouse extracurricular of Warman, which raises concerns astir accessibility, information and regular commute times.

"The precedence of Warman metropolis assembly is to marque decisions that are successful the champion involvement of Warman residents — not conscionable for today, but for the future. Locating the caller schoolhouse wrong metropolis limits ensures amended integration with the community, safer and shorter proscription for students, and greater alignment with existing municipal infrastructure astatine a much businesslike cost."

The merchandise ends by saying assembly volition beryllium exploring engagement opportunities for residents and stakeholders.

Future Forward for Warman responded by pointing retired that the projected determination for the schoolhouse is not "remote," aligns with Warman's existing semipermanent determination maturation plans, and could service some Martensville and Warman students efficiently.

The radical further stated that successful the past 3 years, nary alternate tract wrong Warman has been formally proposed, nary autarkic studies person been published and nary meaningful engagement has occurred with determination partners.

"Instead, we person seen continued absorption to a well-researched, well-supported connection that is acceptable to determination forward. This deficiency of collaboration risks further delays to a task that our communities urgently need."

The radical aboriginal posted that their representatives person met with Warman MLA Terry Jenson, and helium told them that for the task to determination forward, letters of enactment indispensable beryllium obtained from each 3 municipal partners successful the project, including Warman.

Jenson besides told the radical that onshore agreements indispensable beryllium successful spot betwixt the 2 schoolhouse divisions and the RM of Corman Park, and municipal servicing commitments indispensable beryllium secured for the site.

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